mason



' I. J. MASON.

MAIL PROTECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATSON FILED NOV. l6. l9l5.

Patented June 3, L919.

2 SHEETS-SHET 1. \JH' y WITNESSES, I I/VVENTOR Jsgviz Mdsafi/ mr MIR/H5P; I: m. FNOIO L/nm WASHINGTON n c I. I. MASON.

MAIL PROTECTING APPARATUS. APPUCATTON man Nov 16. 1915.

1,305,732, 7 Patented J une 3, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: IIVVEA/TOR By W I A rmmwsrs m: Mounts PETERS 60.,Puumulwnsnmcmu, u. c.

JOSEPH J. MASON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

MAIL-PROTECTING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'Patented J 11116 3, 1919.

Application filed November 16, 1915. Serial No. 61,741.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. MASON, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mail-Protecting Apparatus; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

The present invention relates to a device for the protection of mailmatter and particularly in connection with the depositing of mailthrough openings formed in the walls of inclosures such as a room or abox for the reception of mail. One of the objects of the invention is toprovide. in connection with a door or wall a protected opening throughwhich mail may be inserted, the opening being adapted to closeautomatically upon the release of an 'actuatingmember arranged uponoperation to cause the opening of the mail receiving apparatus. Afurther object of the invention is to provide in a mailreceivingapparatus a protected opening of suflicient dimensions topermit of the passage oflarge pieces of mail matter, such as magazines,papers, mailing tubes and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a mail receivingapparatus a protected opening through which mail matter may be insertedto be discharged into a re ceptacle, the opening being provided withmeans for preventing the return therethrough of the discharged mailvafter the same has reached the receptacle.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings: i

Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a door showing the applicationof the invention thereto;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line aa of Fig. 1; V V

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 6-?) of Fig. 1; 7

.Fig.5 is a horizontal sectional plan view taken. on line c-aof Fig. 3,and v Fig. 6 is a detail view of a portion of the operating mechanism.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesame parts.

7 Referring to the drawings by numerals 1 represents a door, and 2 themiddle rail thereof which is preferably formed by placing togethersections 3 and 4: as shown in Fig. 3. Mounted on the outside of section3 is a shutter frame 5 having an opening 6 formed therein cooperatingwith an opening 7 in the sections 3 and 4 for receiving mail matter whenthe mechanism controlling the openings is operated to uncover the same.The opening 6 is normally held closed by a movable shutter 8 upon theends of which are positioned rearwardly extending arms. 9 pivotallymounted at 10 upon extensions 11 of a. bracket 12 secured preferably tothe shutter frame 5 by any suitable means. Po.- sitioned between thearms 9 on the rear side of thedoor is a chute 13 provided with endclosing portions. 14; connecting with side members 15 and 16, the topand bottom of the chute being left open for the receiving anddischarging of mail matter into a box 17 positioned upon the back of thedoor beneath' the chute. The chute 13 is provided with a pivot bearing18 secured to the ends 14 of the chute, preferably by means of suitablescrews 19. The pivot bearing is mounted on a shaft 20 carried by theextension 11 of the bracket 12. secured to the outside of one of theextensions 11 is a fulcrum bracket 21 and pivotally mounted between theextension and fulcrum bracket upon a pin 22 is an actuating lever 23 therear end of which is bent inwardly and pivotally connected at 24: to oneend of a link 25, the other end of the link being pivotally connected tothe chute at 26, a point considerably below the pivot shaft 20 of thechute when the same is in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 3. Theouter end of the actuating lever 23 is pivotally connected at 27 to thebottom of the plunger 28 extending through and guided in an openingformed in the slotted member 5. The top of the plunger is provided witha handle 29 for the use of the operator in depressing the plunger. Theinner ends of the rearwardly extending arms 9 are pivotally connected at30 to one end of a short link 31, the other end of the link beingpivotally connected at 32' to the end of the chute '13. The ends of thechute 13 are curved to agree with the curved guard 33 secured to therear side of the door above the box 17. The guard is provided with anopening 3 1 at its bottom through which mail from the chute isdischarged into the box 17 In the operation of my improved mailreceiving apparatus, when it is desired to insert mail therein, theoperating member or plunger 28 is pushed down, thereby causing the lever23 and link 25 to move the chute 13 on its pivot 20 to the positionshown by dot ted lines in Figs. 3 and 4. While the chute is moving intothis position the link 31 connected therewith will cause the rearwardlyextending arms 9 to move on their pivots 10 for the purpose of elevatingthe shutter 8 to the dotted line position shown in Figs. 3 and 1. lViththe parts in these positions, the slot or opening 6 will be uncoveredand the mouth or top of the chute 13 will be presented in front of theopening in position to receive mail from the outside. As soon as themail has been deposited in the chute the operator releases the plungerand the action of gravity on the chute serves to return the same to itsnormal position for the reason that the pivot point 20 is located abovethe center line of the chute, as shown in Fig. 3. While the chute isturning on its pivot in front of the guard 33 the latter serves toprevent the mail from discharging until the chute reaches substantiallya vertical position. The guard 33 being curved forwardly at its bottomtoward the rear face of the door will serve to insure the properdischarging of the mail in the box 17. It will be noted that since themovable shutter 8 and the chute 13 are operated simultaneously that anyone attempting to remove the mail from the box 17, by operating on theoutside of the door, will be blocked by the guard 33 and chute 13,should they succeed in raising the shutter 8, in which event of coursethe chute will be elevated also, thus cutting off access to the box 17.WVith this arrangement, the inserting of a hand or any kind of aninstrument into the box 17 is prevented and the mounting of the movableparts being inaccessible to a party on the outside of the room, therewill be no way in which the device can be dismantled from the outside.as the shutter frame 5 is held on by screws positioned through the doorrail from the back thereof. The opening 6 and the size of the chute 13are preferably made large enough to receive pieces of mail ofconsiderable length, such as magazines, mailing tubes and packages ofvarious kinds. While I have shown my invention in connection with adoor, I do not intend to limit myself to this particular form ofapplication, as the invention is readily applicable to a wall orpartition of any kind, as well as to the ordinary type of mail boxesmounted on street corners and in oflice buildings, or in connection withany kind of an inclosure for receiving mail matter.

I claim my invention:

1. A mail protecting apparatus comprising an inclosure having an openingformed through one of the walls thereof, a movable chute normallydisposed out of registry with said opening, a shutter normally closingsaid opening and movable into said inclosure away from said opening, andmeans for effecting a relative movement of said chute and shutter todisclose said opening and bring the chute into registry with saidopening.

2. A mail protecting apparatus comprising an inclosure having an openingformed through one of the walls thereof, a movable chute normallydisposed out of registry with said opening, a shutter normally closingsaid opening disposed within said inclosure and having a movementtransverse to said opening substantially in the plane thereof, and meansfor moving the shutter and chute in opposite directions to disclose saidopening and bring the chute into registry with said opening.

3. A mail protecting apparatus compris ing an inclosure having anopening formed through one of the walls thereof, a chute in saidinclosure normally disposed out of regis try with said opening, ashutter within said inclosure to normally close said opening, and anoperating member outside the inclosure having link connecting means formoving said chute and shutter relatively to each other to disclose saidopening and bring the chute into registry with said opening.

1. A mail protecting apparatus compris-. ing an inclosure having anopening formed through one of the walls thereof,a chute in saidinclosure normally disposed out of registry with said opening, a shutterpivotally supported within said inclosure at a point removed from saidopening and movable to close and unclose said opening from within, 110and an operating member without said inclosure having link connectingmeans for moving said chute and shutter to disclose said opening andbring the chute into registry with said opening.

5. In a mail protecting apparatus, the combination with a door havin amail re ceiving opening therein, of a dilute on the inner side of saiddoor normally disposed out of registry with said opening, a shutter 120on the inner side of said door normally closing said opening, and anoperating member on the outer side of said door having link connectingmeans for moving said chute and shutter relatively to each other to dis-125 close said opening and bring said chute into registry with saidopening.

6. A mail protecting apparatus comprising an inclosure having an openingformed through one of the walls thereof, a pivotally 130 mounted chutepositioned in the inclosure adjacent the opening, the opening throughthe chute being normally out of alinement With said first mentionedopening, a pivotally mounted shutter disposed Within said inclosure andnormally closing the first mentioned opening, a link pivotallyconnecting the shutter and the chute, a lever, a link connecting one endof the lever with the chute, and means for operating the lever to causethe shutter and chute to move simultaneously, the former to uncover thefirst mentioned opening and the latter to present one of its open endsin registering engagement With said opening.

7. A mail protecting apparatus comprising an inclosure having an openingformed through one of the Walls thereof, brackets positioned in theopening at the sides thereof, a chute positioned in the inclosureadjacent the opening and pivotally mounted upon the brackets, theopening through the chute being normally out of alinement with the firstmentioned opening, a shutter Within said inclosure pivotally mountedupon the brackets and normally closing said first mentioned opening, alink connecting the shutter and the chute, a lever supported by thebracket, a link connecting one end of the lever with the chute, meansfor operating the lever to cause the shutter and chute to movesimultaneously in opposite directions, the former to uncover the firstmentioned opening and the latter to present one of its open ends inregistering engagement With said uncovered opening, and means forclosing the other end of the chute during the time said openings are inregistering position.

JOSEPH J. MASON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

